VTechWorks staff will be away for the winter holidays starting Tuesday, December 24, 2024, through Wednesday, January 1, 2025, and will not be replying to requests during this time. Thank you for your patience, and happy holidays!

Browsing by Author "Muench, John"

Now showing 1 - 11 of 11
  • Thumbnail Image
    The adoption of innovative wood processing technologies in the building products industry
    Cohen, David H. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989)
    The strategic importance of the adoption of innovative processing technologies was analyzed for building products businesses. This study examined the two components of wood building products businesses: the structural panel industry and the softwood Iumber industry. To ensure that the relevance of adopting of innovative processing technologies was examined within an accurate contextual environment, additional important strategies and performance were also measured. A mail survey of the seventy-five largest North American producers of these two products provided the primary data necessary to investigate the strategic importance of process technology adoption, forward vertical integration, relative market share, grade sector focus, and investment intensity on firm performance as measured by profitability surrogates and changes in relative market share. This survey collected direct measures of the proportion of 1987 production produced by respondent firms that used controlled distribution channels and each of twentythree processes indicative of innovative technologies in the manufacture of building products. Information concerning the other strategic and performance factors was collected from secondary data sources. Results indicate that the adoption of innovative processing technologies has a positive impact on firm profitability. Investment intensity and grade sector focus also contributed to superior profitability. Forward vertical integration, and relative market share had no impact in differences between performance levels for the firms studied. Technologies were examined for underlying dimensions that group different process technologies together. Firms were clustered according to their level of adoption of innovative processing technologies and these clusters were then described according to a variety of firm-dependent characteristics, strategies, and performance measures. A strategy-performance model was developed for standardized, industrial product-markets and empirically tested using the data collected for the building products industry as an industry representative of this type of competitive environment.
  • Thumbnail Image
    A comparative analysis of wood-supply systems from a cross- cultural perspective
    Laestadius, Lars (Virginia Tech, 1990-07-06)
    An analytical tool must combine sufficient scope with cultural neutrality to be adequate for analyzing problems across technological style boundaries. The concept of a wood-supply system is proposed, defined as a mechanism generating a consistent flow of wood to a set of wood-consuming mills, beginning its work with the severing of trees and ending it by feeding a pulping digester or head saw. The contrast in wood flow between the wood-supply systems of the Southern United States and Sweden is explored. The systems accommodate surges in wood-consumption rates and changes in wood-supply difficulty differently .. The South maintains a small wood inventory by keeping considerable production capacity idle; Sweden keeps little capacity idle by maintaining a large cushion of wood inventories. The implications of differences in relative cost between wood in inventory and forcibly idle production capacity are discussed. As a result of the historically motivated emphasis on accounting for capacity in Sweden and for wood in the South, costs associated with wood inventories and idle capacity appear to have been overlooked in a mirror-image pattern. The transfer of equipment between harvesting styles whose evolution has been governed by different relative costs has a high risk of failure. Southern equipment is cheap, uncomplicated. robust, and dependable in order to survive forced idleness and to produce without buffer inventories. Swedish equipment is expensive, complex, sensitive, and less dependable, due to the freedom to produce at capacity and the occurrence of large buffer inventories. Equipment manufacturers need to estimate the relative cost of idle wood and idle capacity when analyzing equipment exports across style boundaries. Suggestions for further work include an exploration of the relative cost in each region, and the development of unbiased methods of accounting for idle resources. It is also suggested that the different interpretations of the concept of forestry in Europe and North America be explored.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Competitive strategy and structure in the United States wood household furniture industry
    Forbes, Craig L. (Virginia Tech, 1995-02-05)
    A multivariate measure of Porter's (1980) dimensions of competitive strategy was used to determine the competitive structure of the U.S. wood household furniture industry. Firms were categorized into strategic groups using hierarchical agglomerate cluster analysis based on factor scores. Cluster analysis resulted in a differentiation, an overall low cost, and a focus group (which appeared as a sub-group of the differentiation group). No differences (based on MANDOVA) were found between strategic groups based on performance (ROA or growth), or between firms with a distinct strategic orientation and those that appeared to be "stuck in the middle" (Porter 1980, p.41). Firms were asked to predict changes in their strategies over the following five years (1993 to 1998). The overall low cost group predicted increased emphasis primarily on the differentiation dimension, the differentiation group predicted increased emphasis on the focus dimension and the focus group predicted greater emphasis would be placed on the overall low cost and differentiation dimensions. Three firms chosen based on their close proximity to strategic group centroids were studied through case analyses to detennine how these firms operationalize their intended strategy. The firm classified as a differentiation strategist: emphasized product style and company image, and was very customer-oriented. The overall low cost firm's strategy involved manufacturing generic products exhibiting mass appeal and offering these products at the lowest cost. The focus firm aggressively targeted a particular market segment to achieve competitive advantage. The structure of the industry was investigated based of value of shipments during 1993. Over 60% of reported shipments were targeted toward a medium price point. Nearly 85% of shipments were from the largest 25% of responding firms. The majority of furniture shipped by respondents was bedroom furniture, followed by dining room furniture (19%) and occasional tables (11 %). Over one third of reported shipments were through local and regional full line furniture stores. Other important channels of distribution were national furniture chains (20% of total shipments) and discount chains, department stores and mass merchants (14%). Of the total reported value, 6.0% were exported, 15.6% were consumer ready-to-assemble (RTA) furniture and 16.9% were new products.
  • Thumbnail Image
    An Examination of Policies to Promote Greater Use of Wood Processing Industry Wastes for Fuel in State Facilities
    Zipper, Carl E.; Muench, John (Virginia Tech. Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research., 1993)
    The 1992 House Joint Resolution 69 directed the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission, with the assistance of the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research (VCCER) and the Brooks Forest Products Center (BFPC), to "examine policies necessary to promote greater use of wood wastes for fuels by state facilities." This report contains the results of investigations conducted by VCCER and BFPC at the request of the Virginia Coal and Energy Commission to achieve the objectives of House Joint Resolution 69.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Export marketing decision-making by wood household furniture manufacturers in Malaysia and the United States
    Idrus, Roszehan Mohd (Virginia Tech, 1994-07-15)
    This dissertation presents export decision-making information meant to complement the array of information available to wood furniture manufacturers, relevant government agencies, and marketers. It utilizes data obtained from a literature search as well as from a national survey of 947 wood household-furniture manufacturers in the U.S. and 310 manufacturers in Malaysia. Personal interviews were also carried out to support as well as to add depth to the quantitative data. This report includes a detailed look at the global export market opportunities for wood household furniture. For U.S. manufacturers, potential markets are its NAFTA partners - Saudi Arabia, the European Union, and the Pacific Rim countries. However, U.S. companies need to focus more on exporting and not be totally dependent on the domestic markets. As for Malaysian manufacturers, the U.S. will remain as the largest market for their products. However, this may change with the competition that Malaysia faces with other Asian nations such as China, Indonesia, and Thailand. Furthermore, Malaysia, a tropical wood producing country, may lose its market share if U.S. consumers start to demand environmentally friendly wood furniture products.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Factors influencing the production of Indonesian sawnwood and plywood
    Siregar, Hezlisyah (Virginia Tech, 1996)
    The forest products industry of Indonesia grew rapidly after the establishment of the log export ban policy in May 1980. As a result, within about five years, Indonesia was transformed from the biggest exporter of tropical logs into a major exporter of processed wood products. To better understand this transition, this study presents multiple regression models of Indonesian sawnwood and plywood production and consumption based on time series data from 1970 to 1994. This study had three main objectives: 1) to create models that can be used for projecting future production of Indonesian sawnwood and plywood, 2) to identify the relationship and establish the degree of association between production and factors that influence their trends, and 3) to analyze Indonesian forestry policies of log export ban and sawnwood export tax as they affect production of sawnwood and plywood. Domestic sawnwood consumption was modeled as a function of population, log export policy (no log export ban vs. log export ban), and sawnwood tax policy (tax vs. no tax). Domestic plywood consumption was modeled as a function of population, consumer price index (CPI), and log export policy (ban vs. no ban). Export plywood consumption was modeled as function of exchange rate, log export policy, and sawnwood tax policy. The consumption and production of sawnwood and plywood were analyzed by multiple regression techniques. All parameters in the sawnwood and plywood equation were found to be significant. However, price did not influence the consumption or production of sawnwood and plywood significantly. All parameters in this study were found to be elastic. It is found that, during the period under investigation (using 1970 as the base year), the production and consumption of Indonesian sawnwood and plywood increased considerably. The projection of sawnwood and plywood productions for 5 years (1995-1999) also shows an increasing trend.
  • Thumbnail Image
    A hierarchical analysis of factors affecting the adoption and marketing of timber bridges
    Smith, Robert L. (Virginia Tech, 1994)
    Several aspects influencing the adoption of timber bridges were investigated. Initially, perceptions of timber as a bridge material were rated by highway officials in twenty-eight states. Timber was rated lowest in overall performance by each group (State Department of Transportation engineers, private consultants, and local highway officials) throughout the United States. The highest rated bridge material was prestressed concrete, followed by reinforced concrete, steel and timber. The most important factors in the bridge material decision included: Lifespan of material, past performance of material, maintenance requirements of material, resistance to natural deterioration, initial cost, and lifecycle cost. Timber was compared to other bridge materials on eight preselected attributes. Timber rated the lowest on the attributes of low maintenance, ease of design, long life, and high strength. Highway officials in four states (Mississippi, Virginia, Washington, and Wisconsin) were personally interviewed. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) was used to characterize their decision of a bridge material. The most important bridge criteria were similar in each state, however, their effect on the overall decision differed by state. Prestressed and reinforced concrete were the materials of choice in all states. The results of this study indicate that, based on the six criteria measured, timber will seldom be the material of choice for highway bridges. Timber bridge manufacturers were surveyed to understand current marketing and management techniques in the promotion of timber bridges. Marketing efforts were most prevalent in the Midwest. Timber bridge sales represented, on average, less than 7% of total sales from responding companies. Wood treating and gluelaminating firms represented over 75% of the timber bridge firms. One-half of the responding timber bridge companies felt that timber bridge sales would increase an average of 15% over the next five years. Barriers and incentives to timber bridge adoption were investigated. The greatest incentives include: year around construction, resistance to deicing chemicals, quick construction, and aesthetic qualities. Major barriers appear to be: short lifespan, maintenance requirements, decay, perceptions of strength, and that "timber doesn't perform well under high weight and traffic volumes". The realistic size of the bridge market was estimated not to exceed 600 to 700 designed bridges a year. This would require the use of 10 to 12 million board feet of lumber.
  • Thumbnail Image
    The margin for yield improvement for no. 1 common 5/4 red oak in a conventional rough mill
    Yun, Linda Y. (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1989)
    This study examined the potential for improvement within a conventional (crosscut-first) rough mill. Improvement was measured in terms of volume and also value of cuttings produced. Current levels of yield were obtained from an in-plant yield study of 138 boards. The same material was then processed with a computer optimization program designed to simulate a crosscut-first operation. Tests between the two methods, actual and optimized, showed that . current levels of cutting volume production were not able to be improved upon with optimization. Due to the varying costs of different length cuttings, however, a significant increase in the value of cuttings produced was possible. The distribution of cutting lengths produced was found to be a significant factor in these results.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Proceedings of a Symposium on Yellow-Poplar Construction Lumber: an Emerging Development Opportunity for Southwest Virginia
    Muench, John; Frame, Elvin D.; Deal, Earl L.; Haley, Jerry; Porter, James K.; Smith, Thomas K.; Johnson, Thomas G. (LMA Research & Education Foundation, 1989)
    The proceedings highlight the potential for the establishment of a construction lumber industry based on yellow-poplar in Southwest Virginia and the new capital investments and innovations in production and marketing that would be needed to make it a success.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Regional utilization of reusable pallets by the grocery and related products industry
    Anderson, Robert Bruce (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1988)
    Since 1960, pallet production has quadrupled, increasing the pallet industry's use of hardwood lumber from 14 percent to almost 50 percent of total hardwood lumber production. Part of this growth can be attributed to the grocery and related products industry, which should continue as a major growth area for pallet usage over the next decade. The general objective of this study is to provide information that can be used to understand the long-term potential and long-term trends in the grocery pallet market which relate to future regional timber demands by the pallet industry. Specific objectives are: (A) Provide information on current use of grocery pallets in the grocery distribution industry; (B) Provide theoretical framework for future analysis of the regional demand for grocery pallets; and (C) Provide information on demand for regional timber resources resulting from grocery pallet production within specified regions. Models are presented representing demand and supply in the grocery and related products and grocery pallet markets. In the grocery pallet model, demand for new grocery pallets is expressed as an 'excess demand' where demand for new grocery pallets equals the difference between aggregate supply of pallets to grocery distribution and available inventory of grocery pallets in the system. Inventory of grocery pallets in grocery distribution is expressed as a function of dollar volume of retail sales, based on application of a stock adjustment model for durable inputs. Consumption of grocery pallets by the grocery distribution industry is shown to be an important part in overall new pallet production even though the pallet used, 48"x40", only constitutes about 11 percent of total new pallet production in 1986. Estimates of national consumption of new grocery pallets in 1986 are broken down into regional estimates of new pallet consumption. Volume of wood raw material used in 1986 for production of grocery pallets is estimated to exceed 838 million board foot of wood raw material, or potentially 18 percent of total hardwood raw material consumed in production of all types of pallets. National trends effecting wood use in grocery distribution are considered. Specific regional trends effecting wood raw material use are not identified.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Suitability of Casuarina equisetifolia as utility poles in Senegal
    Gueye, Babacar Salif (Virginia Tech, 1994-11-01)
    The use of Casuarina equisetifolia trees grown in Senegal as utility poles was investigated as follows: (1) to determine the longitudinal air permeability of the species with regard to its treatability; (2) to determine the treatability of the wood using a full-cell process; (3) to determine the mechanical properties of the species relative to its use as utility poles in Senegal. The mean superficial longitudinal air permeability of 60 specimens was 4990 cm³(air)/cm s atm whereas the theoretical permeability was 4710 cm³/cm s atm. It was determined an average of 1830 vessels per cm² with a mean diameter of 117 microns and a volume fraction of 0.20 . The presence of tyloses was not observed during the anatomical measurements. As expected, the most important variables influencing the effectiveness of the preservative treatment were the impregnation pressure and the permeability of the specimens. Retention increased as the impregnation pressure was increased; and at a given pressure, retention was positively correlated to permeability. Since the wood seems to be fairly permeable, it can therefore be satisfactorily treated by controlling the impregnation pressure. The results of static bending tests were compared to the theoretical maximum stress at ground line (R) of the different classes of utility poles used in Senegal. With an average modulus of rupture (MOR) of 108 megaPascals, the ratio of MOR to R varied between 2.12 to 2.34. This ratio provides evidence that Casuarina's wood meets the mechanical requirements of the Standard NFC67-100, which sets the guidelines for utility poles in Senegal.